ZONDERKIDZ

Voices of Christmas
Copyright © 2009 by Nikki Grimes
Illustrations © 2009 by Eric Velasquez

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zonderkidz, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Grimes, Nikki.
Voices of Christmas / by Nikki Grimes.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-310-71192-6 (jacketed hardcover)
1. Jesus Christ--Nativity--Juvenile literature. I. Title.

BT315.3.G75 2006
232.92--dc22 2006012787

All Scripture quotations unless otherwise noted are taken from the New
Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989, Division of Christian
Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United
States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
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Zonderkidz is a trademark of Zondervan.

Editor: Betsy Flikkema

Art direction and design: Kris Nelson

Printed in China

09 10 11 12 •  5  4  3  2  1
 Written by Illustrated by
Nikki Grimes Eric Velasquez
Gabriel
es ix th month the angel
th
In
Hush! The hour is late.
Nazareth lies sleeping,
and I wait for my Lord’s signal
to once again go
to earth below.
When last I went, my words
were for Zechariah.
Now, I pace the halls of heaven
memorizing a message
for Mary.
(Every archangel I see
envies me!)
I must get the message right:
The Light of the World
is on his way!
What will Mary say
when I tell her?
l w as
sen t by
bri e
Ga
I wonder what he’ll look like,
God wrapped in baby’s skin,
stepping from Eternity into Time?
How will he hide his glory?
How will he hold it all in?
Ah! There! The bells chime
and I must go.
And so
I spread my wings, and spring
from heaven’s balcony.
G o d to a
to w
n in
re th , to a virgin
lee called Naza
Gali .
Mary . An
d h e cam e t o

The virgin’s name was Mar y

h er a n d s
aid,
“
Gre
etings, favored one!
The y o u .”
Lord is with

He is gone now,
but still my bedroom walls beam
brighter than moonrise.
My spine tingles from his touch.
Such heat pulsing from white light!
Voice deeper than echo,
he spoke to me
familiar words from prophecy:
“The Master is sending Man
a baby. A boy. A King. His Son!”
Then he added impossibly,
“You, Mary, will be the one
he calls Mother.”
Then he was gone!
Now I, alone, remain
rooted to this dirt floor,
dizzy with wonder,
pinching my wrist,
waiting to wake
from this dream.
Joseph i nga
r igh t eo u s m a n a nd

ph, be
Her husband Jos e
 a c e ,
is gr
ic d t ly.
l ie
unwi
llin g to expose her t
o pu
b
h e rq u

mi ss
planned to d
is
There is little sleep
for me tonight,
only tossing and turning
and mourning over Mary.
I’ll have to send her away now.
How could I marry a girl
who is having someone else’s baby?
Why has she done this to me?
If only I could sleep, maybe then
I could find answers in my dreams.
“Joseph,” an angel says to me,
“take Mary as your wife.
The life inside of her
comes from The Everlasting One.
He is the Messiah, God’s own Son
and you will call him Jesus.”
Moments later I awake,
certain as sky that I’ve had
more than a dream.
I wait for this mighty mystery
to unfold.
For now, this one thing I know:
I am ready now to do
whatever Jehovah
tells me to.
Elizabeth e to a Ju d e an
ast
In thos t h h
e days wi
M ar y we nt
 he
d t
th .
be
e
town in the h e nta
er
ill country, where she liz
house
of Zechariah and greeted
E

Heavy as I am,
I sail above the ground.
My magic carpet? Joy!
Any day now, I will have a boy,
God be praised!
What will Cousin Mary say,
me an old woman
with a baby on the wayÑ
a boy who will lead men
to the Messiah?
I havenÕ t long to ponder.
Mary arrives at my door
with news more miraculous than mine.
The babe in my belly leaps
to let me know
it is MaryÕ s boy
mine will lead men to,
MaryÕ s son who will be
the Holy One.
Then, all at once,
my voice rings out with prophecy:
Ò Hear me, Mary:
More than any other woman,
you are blessed.Ó
Zechariah or yo ur p
n,
r
a
ay
n
e
d
r
y ou
“Do not be afraid, Zechariah, f so
y oua
Your wife Elizabeth will bear

Yes, I am a dim-witted man,

dismissing an answer to prayer!
I did not believe Gabriel,
whom God sent to tell me
I’d be a father
in my old age.
And, since I would not
accept his words,
he stole mine
and left me silent
for nine, long months.
But once my boy was born,
words of rejoicing ripped
my veil of silence in two:
“Blessed be you, Lord God of Israel!”
I lifted my son toward heaven,
happy at the sound of his cry.
“I name you John,” I said.
“And you, child, will be called
the prophet of the Most High.
You will prepare his way!”
From that day to this,
I have praised the Lord
without ceasing,
never to be silent again.
has been hear s so?”
d. is i
will name him th
John.” l I know
. . . Zechariah wil
said to w
the angel, “Ho
Neighbor pe ro r
In those days E m
a dec r o m h in
Joseph al r e e w e nt out f
a z a r et
so we f N
n t fr o m t he to w n o
 .
u g u stus that all the w r ed . .
.
A orld should be reg i ste
h em
alilee to Judea, to the cit
y o f D a v i d c a lle d B e t h l e
G

I saw her,
belly ripe to the touch,
her baby ready to drop
at any time.
And yes, I watched Joseph
cinching wineskins
to his donkeyÕ s saddle,
wondered why
he was dragging that poor girl
to Bethlehem.
Someone from the family
had to go, of course.
The Emperor made it plain:
all must register for the Census.
But surely Joseph could have
registered for them both.
Still, gossips say
Mary would not stay behind.
God keep them both.
The journey ahead
is a maze of rough road
and danger in the dark.
I fear their future
is marked with trouble.
 The
Innkeeper rn son and
And s
t bo
he gave birth to her firs
See here!
My inn is splitting its sides
with travelers,
the spare rooms swallowed up
by Roman soldiers, merchants,
and who knows who!
Don’t blame me.
The young girl with belly
round as a drum
was not the only one
forced to come to Bethlehem.
But, since her husband
rapped upon my door,
I led them to a dry spot
in my stable,
and a bed of hay
on which to lay themselves.
It was the most I could offer,
other than to share
my own, warm room.
And who would care
to do that for strangers?
It’s not as if they were royalty, right?
A stable would do for the night.
 g e r,
m an
wrapped him in in a e inn.
band h
s of cloth, and laid him in t
because th
he m
as no place for t
ere w
Shepherd eph e rd s livin g in the
there were sh
e g io n
h at r
In t
fields, keeping watch ove
rt
Who could forget it?
The sky a cloak of velvet
stitched with stars, we shepherds
studied the heavens
while our sweet sheep rested safe
in the pen we’d built of whatever rocks
we could find. And there I was
leaning against a tree
cradling Moriah, a wee lamb
tuckered out from wandering off again.
My feet burned from the chase.
Then suddenly the sky blazed
with the light of an angel.
“Be not afraid,” he said.
“To you is born this day
a Savior, the Messiah.”
Moriah stirred at this voice like thunder.
heir f
l ock
by nigh
t.
I wondered, Why come to us?
We are not priests. But then,
I remembered King David,
how God drew near to him who
once was a shepherd too.
“You will find the child lying
in a manger,” the angel said.
We fled from the hills
to search for
this wonder, this holy child.
You ask if we found him.
What? Did you not hear us
shout for joy?
Gaspar d , w is e men from the east
n King of the Jews?
ero
ng H o r
Ki as b
In the time of ho w
h il d w
i s s t a r at its rising
he c
Ò W h er e i s t ed h
erv
.Ó
ob s
We

All those years of poring over

charts and scrolls on astronomy,
then suddenly, it was as if
the Morning Star
leapt from the page
and rose into the sky.
I have waited for its appearing
so long, I know its shape by heart.
This star marks the MessiahÕ s birth.
God, at last, has come to earth
and I must find him!
Ò Brothers, it is time for us
to begin the journey
for which we were born.
Pack quickly and take
a gift for the King.
We leave in the morning.Ó
 k in g ,
em , as
sal
Jeru
came to
Herod
When f righ t e n
d
e
fr
d
om
...

as rn e
K ing H hi s, hew d lea
erod heard t an
 en
Then Hero se m
d se i
them the ex
cre t ly called f or t h e w
p ear ed .
act t a p
ime when the star had

Midnight finds me twisted

on my golden bed,
my sickly, sagging body
a bundle of fever and fear.
Still, I am king! Do you hear?
I shake my fist at Heaven,
remembering the words
of those blasted magi!
When were they here?
Days ago? Or maybe weeks.
All I know for certain
is that they spoke of a star
rising in the sky, marking a holy birthÑ
King of the Jews, come to earth!
To take my place? Never!
I, alone, am king!
Ò Find him for me,Ó I told them.
And they agreed.
Ò I need to worship him,Ó I lied.
Why do they not return?
Never mind. IÕ ll find a way
to rid the land
of this star-marked boy.
His death will be my joy!
Melchior e star th a t they
a ce
t t h h e p l
And
there, ahead of them, wen ed over t
op p
i ts t
u ntil
had seen at i
ts ri
where the c
s ing,
hild w I might be mistaken,
as. but my heart seems
to beat more wildly
with every step we take
toward Bethlehem.
The Holy Family journeyed here,
beneath the path of the star.
“Tut-tut!” We urge our camels over
miles of sand, sun-baked mud,
and rock, until the fertile foothills
of the Shephelah are within sight.
There, the star seems frozen
in the sky, and I sense
the end of our search is near.
My brothers fear
the wrath of Herod,
for I have told them
we cannot return to his palace
as promised.
An angel warned me in a dream
that Herod means
to harm the Child,
and we dare not be the arrows
shot from Herod’s bow.
“Tut-tut!
Come on, my lovely.
The jewel of Bethlehem
sparkles up ahead.”
 Simeon
Now the na m e w as
o
S
r
im
w
eon;
ard
re wa o se ng f
s a man in Jerusalem w h ok i
lo Israel.
this ma
n wa
s rig v ou t,
t io n of
hteous an d de
ola
cons
to the
No priestly robes hang from my frame.
I am the same as you,
an ordinary manÑ
well, wrinkled, of course,
and of failing sight.
But the Spirit yet whispers to me
in the night, or at dawn.
Why? Because I love his Word,
his voice, and serve him by choice.
Last I heard him speak,
I hurried to the temple to seek
a couple offering their son
for GodÕ s blessing.
Shrouded in light, I knew
this child was the One!
Here was the promise
Jehovah made to me,
that I would see the Messiah
before I died!
I quickly made my arms
a living cradle
for the babe to rest in.
Ò This child,Ó I said, Ò is destined
for the falling and rising of many.Ó
Ò Watch,Ó I told Mary.
Ò With each tomorrow,
your heart will swell
with blessing and with sorrow.Ó
As for me, having seen the MessiahÕ s face,
I am ready, Lord, to come home to you.
Hallelu!
Anna a . ..
nn
e t , A
sh ip e d there with
p h o r is e G o
a pr o ut w n to p ra d
There was also p
b
le ga
b e
e te m and
She never lef t t h e
e cam
At that moment sh
 ay.
d d
ht a n
fasting g
and prayer ni .
and to c hil d
speak about the

I have welcomed the serene

routine of prayer, fasting, and worship
in the temple for sixty years.
But now, it appears, this day
will be like no other.
I come upon a father and mother
presenting their boy to the Lord.
I glimpse his sparkling eyes,
and my withered hand flies
to my chest.
I fight to catch my breath.
It is the Savior
bundled in Simeon’s arms!
“Look! Here!” I cry out,
and my voice careens
through the temple courtyard.
“All you who seek
the redemption of Jerusalem,
look no further.
He is found!”
And all around,
young worshipers wonder
at the words
of this old woman.
But I know.
I know!
Balthasar chst,
e th e y o ffered
Then
ur e
g their treas
, openin
 y r rh .
dm
him gif
se, an
t s of g
old, frankince n
Our royal robes mark us
as strangers to these parts,
and so, crowds gather as we go,
curious to see where we are headed.
More than a year has passed,
but at last the star has led us
to the humble home of
the Holy Child.
We enter the courtyard
where Mary bounces the baby
on her knee,
and my greedy eyes study
every inch of God’s small son.
My ears tingle at the sound
of his giggle,
and all my mouth can manage
is “Master!”
I dig into my travel pouch
and pull out a gift of gold
which seemed generous,
till now.
But how could this trifle
begin to be enough
for the Savior of the world?
You him ,
a h is c o m in g.”
The woman sa id to
e ss i , “I a m he.”
“I know tha t M a id to h er
s uss
. . . Je

And who are you?

Not an angel, no.
Nor Herod.
But perhaps you are
a magi, mapping the miracle
on a chart of stars;
a shepherd
trading sleep
for a chance to seek
a golden child
in swaddling clothes;
a Simeon
who has hoped for a lifetime
to find the one called
Emmanuel, God with us.
Or are you like Mary,
prayerfully waiting
for the King of Kings
to be born in you?
Well, He is here!
Sing! Sing “O, Holy Night.”
Run toward His Light!